2008-04-23 (Wed)
14.30-15.30
(coffee 14.15)
Lecture hall E2,
Lindstedtsvägen 3,
entry level 3
Astrobiology, the research into the origin and possibility if life here on Earth as well as elsewhere in the planetary system and beyond has received tremendous impetus in recent years. Several circumstances have contributed to making astrobiology an exciting new research field. On the one hand, there are many scientific reasons: the discoveries of extra-solar planets which contributes to our understanding of the Solar System and the formation of Earth-like planets, the realization that life can thrive under rather extreme conditions making it more probable for life to exist elsewhere in the Solar System, and the fact that major resources are being spent in developing the technology to produce artificial life, which helps us to appreciate the range of possibilities that nature may have utilized on Earth or elsewhere. On the other hand, astrobiology touches upon some fundamental questions regarding our very existence, and it is perhaps this that attracts the broad interest of scientists and the public alike.
In my talk I will begin with an overview of some of the research topics that physicists have been engaged in within astrobiology. I will then turn attention to the connection between the molecular origin of life and the origin of homochirality, i.e. the handedness of amino acids and sugars in living things. Was homochirality a prerequisite that was necessary for the mechanical stability of the first polymerizing biomolecules, or was it a consequence of life that developed when the first replicating biomolecules polymerized?
Origins of homochirality has also been the topic of a recent 1 month research program at Nordita. I will take the opportunity to advertise this new type of activity at Nordita in organizing research programs and will highlight some past and future activities.
The spatial spreading of homochiral domains has been simulated using the Pencil Code, which is a general tool for solving sets of partial differential equations on large computer platforms using the Message Passing Interface. The code is continuously being developed further by an open community of 20-30 people world-wide using the Concurrent Versioning System. A set of 30 test problems is being solved on various machines each night to monitor the integrity of the code. Main applications of the code include hydromagnetic turbulence simulations in various astrophysical settings.